How AI Is Changing Research Workflows: An IIEX APAC Speaker’s Perspective

Disclaimer: Opinions represented here are personal and do not represent those of Telkom Indonesia. Join us February 3-4, 2026 for the event. Find more information on IIEX APAC 2026 here!

As AI compresses research workflows and blurs the lines between research, design, and strategy, where does human effort create the most value? In this sneak peek of their IIEX APAC session, Rajiv Ibrahim of Telkom Indonesia shares how AI is reshaping the researcher’s role from execution to judgment, influence, and impact. They explore why the real advantage isn’t the tools themselves, but how research is positioned, integrated, and used to shape decisions earlier inside organizations.

Question #1: Give us a brief peek into your talk. What are the key insights and take aways? 

My talk looks at how AI is reshaping the research workflow at a high level, and more importantly, how it changes where human effort creates the most value. Rather than focusing on specific tools or methods, I’ll compare the researcher journey before and after AI to show how research is accelerating, moving closer to daily operations, and influencing decisions earlier. 

The key takeaway is that AI doesn’t eliminate the need for researchers, but it shifts the role toward stronger fundamentals, better judgment, and tighter integration with product, design, and business teams. 

Question #2: You have a great topic. What led you to choose it? 

This topic comes directly from my day-to-day work. I was hired for my research background, but over time my role expanded into design, prototyping, and business framing, largely because AI compressed the workflow and removed many traditional handoffs. 

I chose this topic because I see many teams using similar AI tools but getting very different outcomes. The difference usually isn’t the technology itself, but how research is positioned, integrated, and applied inside the organization. 

Question #3: We are glad to have you with us. What would you like to learn from other speakers and attendees?

I’m very much interested in learning how other teams are embedding research and AI into their daily operations, not just as project-based activities. I’d love to hear practical stories about what’s working (and whatnot), what’s breaking, and how different organizations are navigating cross-functional collaboration in an AI-accelerated environment. 

Question #4: Our industry is buzzing with the word innovation. What is research innovation to you? 

For me, innovation is always about impact. I don’t think research innovation necessarily means inventing new tools or methods. There’s rarely something completely new under the sun. 

Very often, innovation comes from small but meaningful improvements to existing processes, ways of working, or how insights are used, as long as those changes lead to significantly better outcomes. Innovation happens when research stops being an activity that happens after decisions and becomes part of how decisions are shaped in the first place. 

Question #5: Research technology and automation are helping to streamline our cost and time. What else is at work to help insights professionals? 

Beyond technology, what really helps insights professionals is stronger alignment with the business and other functions. Skills like problem framing, storytelling, and understanding how decisions are actually made inside organizations are becoming just as important as technical research skills. 

I also think our industry carries a lot of “research debt.” For years, we’ve been heavily focused on operational execution, often at the expense of strategic thinking and integration. With new technology and automation, we finally have the opportunity to offload some of that operational burden and spend more time paying down that research debt by focusing on fundamentals, judgment, and impact.

Question #6: Greenbook works to move the insights industry and profession forward into the future. What is the biggest thing you would like to see change to improve for our industry?’ 

I’d like to see the industry move away from measuring success by outputs and deliverables, and more toward measuring influence and outcomes. Research shouldn’t be judged by how comprehensive a report is, but by whether it meaningfully shapes decisions, priorities, or actions. 

To get there, I think researchers need to actively befriend product and business teams. We need to understand their language, how they think, what constraints they operate under, and what actually works for them. Research should be as central and relevant to organizations as product teams are, not positioned as a supporting function on the sidelines. 

Question #7: Speaking of the future, the IIEX conference series is a leader in leading discussion of insights future prediction. What do you see on the horizon that (hopefully) attendees can discuss at this event? 

I think we’ll see continued convergence between research, design, strategy, and operations. As AI accelerates workflows, roles will become more hybrid, and research will be expected to operate closer to real-time decision-making. 

I hope attendees can discuss how to adapt to this shift thoughtfully, not just by adopting new tools, but by rethinking how research teams are structured, how they collaborate, and how they create value inside their organizations.